


An East Wind Blows

by NotInPublic



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Past Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, Ramsay is his own warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-31
Updated: 2017-09-01
Packaged: 2018-12-22 04:17:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11959533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotInPublic/pseuds/NotInPublic
Summary: Jon Snow is a high school teacher whose life takes an unexpected turn when Sansa Stark and her daughter Evie move into the house next door. Having never stayed in one place for too long, Sansa likes to keep herself to herself, but Evie has other ideas and something tells Sansa that this time, they're here to stay.





	1. Prologue

_It was positive._

Sansa Bolton looked at herself in the mirror, at the dark circles which framed her shocked eyes and which contrasted so sharply against her skin, paled by lack of sleep and appetite. Her gaze moved down to her shoulders, to the bruises that littered her body below her neck and finally to her stomach. It was almost ironic, how could a body be so fragile, so broken and hopeless and yet so resilient at the same time?

 _I’m pregnant_ , she thought as the panic set in. It was supposed to be a happy moment, she knew. A young married couple, in a new home and now to top it off, a baby on the way. It was the fairy tale that little girls dream of. Except that the reality was more of a nightmare.

Her mind started to race. How could she bring a child into this home? A home in which their father beats their mother over burnt food, creased clothes, and un-polished shoes. A home in which love had turned sour and toxic. What if Ramsay took against the baby like he had taken against her? Her arm automatically raised protectively to her stomach at the thought. No. That could not happen.

She focused on slowing her breathing down to a normal speed, on clearing her mind of the terrible images that had filled it. It was strange. Ten minutes ago, she hadn’t even known that she had a new life growing inside her, but now she knew, it was as though she could feel the new life being breathed into her veins, reigniting a light which had long since extinguished inside her heart. To feel so much emotion after such a long time feeling nothing was almost nauseating, she felt slightly feint.

She looked at herself again, as if truly seeing herself for the first time in a long time. How had she let it get this far? How had she allowed herself to become so beaten, so weak? Where had fiery Sansa Stark gone? The girl who could stop a person in their tracks with one look? She was almost unrecognisable.

It hadn't always been this way. Her and Ramsay had loved each other once, but after they were married things had changed. Ramsay had changed. It had started small, with little criticisms about her cooking and her appearance. It had gotten a lot worse when he had convinced her to give up work. That's when his manipulation had really kicked in. She didn't see it at the time, how he was isolating her from the outside world. She wouldn't accept it when her friends called to say they were worried about her; she'd called it jealousy. She ignored the warning voice in her head when he'd taken away her phone and laptop. She told herself that she deserved it the first time he had hit her, the first time he had forced himself on her. She wouldn't ignore that little voice now, now that it was screaming at her _leave, leave while you still have the chance!_

With a spark in her eyes that hadn’t been there for a long time, she scooped up the test, left the bathroom and began to pack. If she couldn’t find the strength to leave Ramsay to save herself, she would do it to save this new life. She moved fast, looking over her shoulder every two seconds, expecting to see Ramsay in the doorway with that terrifying look on his face.

Once she had the essentials and her passport, she stood in the hallway, fighting the urge to unpack. He would find her, she knew. He would find her and when he did, she would wish she’d never been born. She knew that, because he had told her so.

He’d hissed it at her one night when he saw her glancing towards the door. _Go on_ , he had said, with a sinister smile on his face, _Leave. It won’t do any good. I will find you- anywhere you run, I will find you and when I do,_ he shook his head, _I’ll make you wish you’d never been born_.

Just the memory of the look he’d had on his face was almost enough to keep her there, to change her mind. No. She had to do this. She had to do this for her child. She would draw out the contents of her bank account in cash, before destroying the card so that he wouldn’t be able to trace her. That would be enough to get her away, and from there she would have to make it work. She would get a job, a flat. She would change her name. She would even dye her hair, if that was what it took.

As she shut the front door and posted her key back through the letterbox, she felt the first few drops of rain against her face. She pulled her hood up, slung her bag over her shoulder and walked down the driveway, towards a new life.


	2. Chapter 2

Sansa sighed, placing her hands on her hips as she looked out across the sea of cardboard boxes. After a long day of moving, she had finally gotten an over-tired Evie into her makeshift bed- a mattress on the floor of her new bedroom- and was currently willing the contents of their lives to miraculously unpack themselves.

How many times had she looked over at this view in recent years? Was it _really_ the fourth time they had moved? She shook her head; this had to be the last. There could be no more moving, Evie was three now- would be starting school in a just over years’ time and would need more stability in her life. Sansa would have to put her fears to rest, for her daughter’s sake and begin laying down roots for their future. She had to shake the shadow of Ramsay sooner or later, she couldn’t keep running forever.

The moon shining out of the living room window reminded her how late it was and Sansa decided to leave unpacking for tomorrow. It had been such a long day and she was so tired. She switched the light off, turning her back to the boxes and the ghosts of her past before climbing the stairs.

Evie Stark lay fast asleep, with her arms outstretched, dark hair splayed in all directions and her lips slightly parted. The weariness she had just felt whilst downstairs melted away at the sight. Sansa could watch her sleep for hours, mesmerised by the little girl. _It was worth it_ , she though, _leaving Ramsay, moving all those times, the sleepless nights, the scrimping and saving,_ she would do it all again for Evie.

Sansa changed into her pyjamas and crawled into bed next to her daughter. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

                                                                                                ***

The next day, Sansa had given Evie some collapsed boxes and crayons to try and occupy her whilst she started the process of unpacking. It worked brilliantly for a while, however as morning gave way to Afternoon, the joys of single parenthood were making themselves apparent.

“Mummy. Mum. Mummy. Muuuuuuuuummy!” Evie wailed pelting Sansa with crayons, just as there was a knock at the door. Wonderful.

Red-faced, hair awry, screwdriver in one hand and toddler on hip, Sansa battled her way to the front door. _What I wouldn’t do for a moment alone_ , she thought, _Oh!_

She opened the door to a dark-haired man in his early thirties, sporting glasses and a striped apron, clutching a casserole dish with an awkward- I can see I’ve come at a bad time- expression on his face.

“Hi” She started, sounding much more like _who are you and why are you on my doorstep with a casserole dish?_

“Hi.. and Hi” he smiled at Evie and Sansa found herself holding onto her daughter a little tighter “I um… I’m Jon, I live” He gesticulated in a clumsy way to the house next door “next door. Wow, this sounded a lot less creepy in my head, but I know how much of a nightmare moving can be, so- not that you need to take it, or eat it, of course not- but I made you this” he finished, raising his arms slightly, as if the bright red dish between them wasn’t obvious enough.

Despite herself, and the fact a complete stranger was on her doorstep offering food that could be poisoned, she laughed at the charming- if not a little awkward- man “Hi, I’m Sansa” she held out a hand to shake his, before realising she was still clutching the screwdriver and hastily stuffing it in her pocket before offering again “and that is really thoughtful. Thank you.”

“I promise it’s not poisoned” He added as an afterthought, taking her hand and shaking it, his smile becoming slightly more confident.

“Well that’s good, although you would say that even if it were, wouldn’t you?” She pointed out with a grin.

“Hmm that’s true, you have me there” he turned to Evie “but you don’t think I’d poison you, do you?” to which he was rewarded with a toothy laugh and a head shake.

Odd. Evie was usually shy around strangers- preferring to hide behind Sansa and pretend they didn’t exist. Even odder was that Sansa found herself agreeing with her daughter- there was something implicitly trustworthy about Jon from next door.  In their homes beforehand, she had made a point of avoiding the neighbours, just in-case any trails would lead her back to Ramsay and had expected this time to be no exception. Yet here she was, not only talking to, but accepting a casserole from a complete stranger.

“Well that settles it then” she smiled down at Evie before turning back at Jon, reaching out for the dish “the boss has spoken!”

Jon smiled back “I’m glad. I should explain, I don’t normally spring out of the hedge forcing food on people, but I’ve been trying to make more of an effort with my neighbours recently, since I realised that after four years of living in the same house, I didn’t even know the names of anyone on the street.”

“Really?” Sansa replied, deciding not to point out that of the many homes she’d had in recent years, she’d never even smiled at a neighbour, let alone know their name- until about three minutes ago.

“Really” he looked at the floor, turning slightly red “so apparently, casseroles are the way to fix that.”

“It appears so” She laughed and Evie joined in, which of course made Jon laugh too “this is Evie, by the way- so now you know two people on the street.”

“There you have it, the power of the casserole… Anyway, I should- “he pointed again to next door “I’ll leave you in peace- it was lovely to meet you both” he looked suddenly embarrassed again, as he started retreating from the front door.

“Yes, you too- thank you again” she replied, as he disappeared behind the hedge. She shook her head at the bizarre turn her day had taken and was about to venture back to the cabinet she had been assembling before a voice called across the hedge,

“Oh, I forgot to say- 180⁰C for 20 minutes should do it” a pause “and if you need anything, I’m, well… You know where I am.”

“Thank you Jon” she called back “Bye”

“Bye” came the reply.

As if not to feel left out, Evie shouted “Byeeee” whilst waving her little hand in the direction of Jon’s voice.

Sansa heard a quiet chuckle and the jangling of keys before “Bye Evie!” and as quickly as he had arrived, he was gone. Sansa found herself stood on the doorstep, with a three-year-old in one arm, a casserole dish in the other, a screwdriver stuffed in her back pocket and a slightly elevated pulse.


End file.
